When he's not watching...

Before I begin this chapter, I just wanted to tell any lingering readers this; that from today onwards, there may be days where I may not upload a chapter due to school starting its second semester. I will try to upload as often as I can, though. I don't think this novel is as good as it could have been because of my inexperience, but thank you for reading up until now, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your reading session.

(If you're not willing to read all that:

Chapter uploading may sometimes become inconsistent, send some feedback on my writing if you want, and enjoy.)

(　´∀｀)b

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"Lack are you okay?" 'Kim' nears me, forgetting about her game.

"I'm fine... just thinking about something." Reassuring her, I decide to go home for today. "I think I should head home now. It's pretty dark y'know?"

"Let's walk together then. You wouldn't leave a fragile girl like me alone would you?" She acts like a damsel in distress, placing the back of her hand on her forehead while dramatically falling in place.

There was no reason for me to refuse her. If I go home by myself, it would make me look more suspicious to her if she wasn't actually who she appeared to be. Refusing may also leave me prone to her advancements. If she randomly decides to kidnap me like three weeks ago, I won't be able to overpower her with my current strength.

Now that I think about it... There are quite a lot of girls who could probably beat me in an arm wrestle... I really should start training sooner or later...

"Sure, let's go." I accept her offer and begin my route towards the approximate middle of our houses, where we should split up. I drop my Popsicle stick into a nearby public trash can.

I took multiple steps, but when I couldn't see Kim's figure at the corners of my eye, I turned around.

"You go ahead first, I need to get this big baby!" Kim hops back to the machine's panel and resumes her snipping session, still attempting to win the big penguin plush.

"Alright then." I walk away from 'Million Life' and continue through the soundless empty mall.

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'Has Lack gone yet? If he hasn't, I may have to abandon my plan.' 'Kim' thinks to herself, acting like she is concentrating on the game in front of her.

When a few seconds pass, she turns to the entrance and looks around, not seeing her beloved in sight.

'Perfect!' She sprints over the the public trash can and sticks her delicate hand through the hole. Grabbing hold of her desired item, she yanks out a Popsicle stick. The Popsicle stick Lack held, to be exact.

"Eheheheheh..." 'Kim' ominously giggles to herself and rushes over to a nearby women's restroom.

In there, she thoroughly rinsed one side of the popstick with a soapy wet paper towel, the side that connected with the filth within the garbage can.

She squishes the popstick to her chest, suppressing the inner desire to squeal.

"Ahh, Lack... your warmth still remains in this~ <3" Tightly grasping the popstick, she squirms her legs and... Lowers it to- do I have to say this?

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Nah nah nah, director, do I really have to say this?

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I mean like why is this even part of my script, why am I saying this out loud?

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Yeah, I know that I narrated during the OTHER Kim's third-person perspective. But like, she didn't do anything that time.

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I'll finally get pai-?! Fine, you have yourself a deal.

Tightly grasping the popstick, she squirms her legs and lowers it to her nether region, rubbing it against her while imagining it to be the 'control stick' of the man of her dreams.

"Oh~...! Lack~...!" Her face becomes tomato red, imaging what her and Lack's face would look like once she and him finally connect with each other. The hot atmosphere, the lewd slapping, and the addicting sensation that she and he would get, going on for hours on hours...

'I may not have you now, but I'll definitely make you mine sooner or later... Poor me is growing impatient... But for now, I'll make do with this~' She continues the same action repeatedly, uncaring for how loud and lewd she may sound from the outside of the restroom.

'Oops! I can't leave have Lack leave without me~!' 'Kim' suddenly stops her hand movement and stuffs the popsicle into the pocket of her skirt. Trying to regulate her moist panting breath, she exits the restroom with quick steps.

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"Is she gone?" A woman in a cubicle asks after the lewd sounding voice stopped.

"I... think so. What on Earth was going on out there?" Another woman in a separate cubicle responds to the first woman.

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"What kind of name is 'Lack'?"

"I know right?"

Both of the women laugh aloud at the silly sounding name. The name of our protagonist.

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So when am I getting paid?

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What?! You said you'd-...

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Ugh...

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I've been walking for a while now, and 'Kim' still hasn't caught up to me. She was quite driven to achieve that plush, it seems.

I could have walked straight home, away from the path that she and I usually take when returning from the mall. However, what to do after that was what troubled me.

Leaving her would make it seem like I was distancing myself from her, making her doubt me and raising her suspicion. I don't have any evidence to call the police on her either, although my faith in them was already despairingly low.

Along the dark streets where the crickets called and the gardens rustle, light footsteps tapped the floor behind me.

Was this going to be like the first chapter where I get kidnapped?!

I whip my head around and find 'Kim' standing directly underneath the streetlight.

"Hi Lack. You've gone pretty far without me, huh?" She says normally. However, her current position gave off a very sinister feeling.

"... You did tell me to go without you." I reason with her, thinking she was at the very least irritated.

"I know I said that, but I didn't mean go 'this' far without me."

"Hm, well, my bad." It seems she wasn't annoyed, but the way she stood under the light with a shadow covering half her face did give me the chills. "Well? What are you standing there for? Catch up."

"Yeah yeah~" Kim skipped over to my side, and while I faced forward again, suddenly locked hands with me.

'Huh...?' I was stunned by her bold action and turned my eyes towards her, but she acted as if nothing had happened and as if whatever she was doing was natural. Though, there was the tinge of pink on her cheeks. However, she faces away from me to hide it.

She wasn't ever like this when I hung out with her before... Is something within her changing?

Her warm and soft hands dominated my mind, but I couldn't tell whether I was flustered in terms of romance or uneasiness.

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Yeah, no. Definitely not the former.

Silently, without a word, 'Kim' and I slowly walked down the sidewalk. Both of us made the same face, but one was filled with uncertainty, and the other with suppressed desire.

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"So you didn't win that big thing, huh?"

"... Ah."

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We reached the place where we normally part ways and walk home individually.

I removed my hand from hers, regretful of losing a source of warmth in one hand. But as I relaxed my hands and tried to reach into my pockets, she reached out and snatched it back into hers.

I look at her with a confused expression. I was sure this was where we were meant to split for today... What more could she want?

"You... You aren't going to let a girl go home alone, right? Walk with me some more..." She asks shyly. Though, I could tell she wasn't asking, and more say, demanded.

"Hey, we've already stuck together for quite a bit today. I need to get home too, I don't want to worry my parents." I try to deny her demand and get myself home, but her hand, which was overlapping with mine, began to increase in strength.

"That's not what you're supposed to say! Come along with me, it's only for a bit! Just tell them you were walking me home or something!" She drags me along with her without effort. She faced forward, getting her expression out of my vision. But from my view, I could see one corner of her lip moving upwards.

I couldn't help but feel something was off. Something within my body was telling me to turn the other way and run home, but I couldn't as I was restrained by a singular hand.

I wasn't so regretful about losing my source of hand-warmth now.

It felt as if I was forcefully being dragged deeper and deeper into a spider's den. Inching closer and closer towards the spider's web.

I struggled to slip my hand from hers, but it was all futile. I was taken further into what I imagined to be, her territory.

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